Oil rectifying apparatus



Nov. 1, 1932. M. CZARNY E'T AL 1,885,333

' OIL RECTIFYING APPARATUS Filed Nov. 13. 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 0L INE L INE C/TANA CASE 30 b All? CLEANER J5 AfiBU/FETOI? 7? MW W Rs 6 BY 6. 4 l

ATTORNEYS Nov. 1, 1932." M. CZARNY ETAL 1,885,333

OIL RECTIFYING APPARATUS File d Nov. 13, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 i I a,

.1 @Wg Q2 l VEN R5 ATTORNEYS I g v Patented Nov. 1, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MARTIN CZARNY, OF ROSELLE, AND FRANK O. FBOLANDER, OF ELIZABETH, JERSEY,

ASSIGNOBS TO CAPILIZER HOLDING CORPORATION, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., CORPORA TION or NEW YORK on. nnorrrrnve Arr-nuts Application filed November 13, 1928. Serial No. 319,129.

This invention relates to oil rectifying apparatus and has particular reference to apparatus for removing the liquid diluents and deteriorants from the lubricating oil of an internal combustion engine or the like, without removing all the oil from or disturbing the circulation thereof inthe engine.

The particular system for rectifying engine lubricating oil to which this invention especially applies is disclosed in our PatentNo. 1,717,096, dated June 11,1929, upon which this application is an improvement. The oil rectifying system as disclosed in the aforesaid patent includes a container through which the oil is circulated by the usual oil pump in forcing the oil from the crank-case. of the engine to the bearings and other frictionally engaging parts thereof. This container is provided with a strainer by which solid deteriorants are removed from the oil, and a capillary device such as a wick by which the liquid deteriorants and diluents, such as gasoline and Water, are abstracted from the oil by capillary action, leavin the oil to be returned to the engine free of any solid or.

liquid deteriorants and possessed of itse full lubricatingqualities. Inasmuch as the gasoline dissolves the oil, the gasolinetends to carry out with it a small'percentage of this thinned oil, buta constriction in the wick prohibits this tendency, so that nothing but ure gasoline emerges with the pure water.

he water and gasoline thus abstracted are allowed to evaporate into the open air from an enlarged area such as the spread or .extended'end of the capillary wick or other device employed for the purpose.

While the system described has proven to be eminently satisfactory in every respect for rectifying lubricating oil, further research has 'deve oped certain improvements in this system and these improvements form the sub-,

ject matter of this application. These improvements deal with the facilitation of the capillary action in abstracting the gasoline and water from the lubricating oil of an internal combustion en 'ne, the removal and utilization of the gaso ine and water thus abstracted as fuel in the engine, and the auto-' matic introduction of a small amount of the oil into the engine whereby the operation thereof is improved. It is the principal object of this invention to provide oil rectifying apparatus embodying these improvements.

This object is attained by providing the aforementioned evaporator portion of the capillary device for abstracting gasoline and water from the oil with a suction head fitted with a small air intake and preferably connected to and operated by the intake of the engine or any other source of low ressure. It is'preferred that thesuction hea be connected to the engine manifold, the carburetor,

or through an air cleaner to the carburetor. In this way the (gasoline recovered from the proves combustion. Accordingly, none of the useful by-products of the oil rectifying system are lost and there is no fire hazard due to the free emission and accumulation of gasoline fumes. This is of peculiar advan? tage in engines where the gasoline leakage into the crank-case is relatively high in that the high gasoline consumption thereof is reduced by a small but constant percentage. Another advantage ofthe apparatus of this invention is that it increases the capillary activity of the oil diluents in the abstracting device for the reason that the normal air pressure 'on the device opposing the capillary action is removed. This results in accelerating the abstraction of the diluents and thus improves the effectiveness and efliciency of the entire oil rectifying system.

The invention also contemplates the intro-' duction of oil into the combustion chamber for the purpose of improvingh the o eration nown eret thereof. It has been oore that i the; introduction of lubricating oil into the engine cylinders lubricates the pistons valves and thus causes the engine to operate more smoothly. Various methods of introducing oil into the engine cylinders, have .been practiced, and among these is the method of mixing-a relatively. small proportion of Ell) lubricatin oil with the gasoline, and the method directl introducing special oil into the cylinders y suitable means. These and other methods entail either separate and special apparatus or the additional operation of adding the oil either to the gasoline or to some special apparatus installed for that purpose. By the apparatus of this invention a small but constant supply of the lubricating oil of the engine is abstracted from the lubricating system and introduced into the combustion chamber of the engine. This is accomplished by slightly relieving the constriction in the capillary wick of the oil rectifying device, so that the abstracted. gasoline carries with it a small proportion of the oil in solution. in evaporating the abstracted gasoline and water, the suction head connected to the intake of the engine also eli'ects the transfer of the oil with the -asoline and water vapor into the engine w ere it performs its lubricating function. Thus the modifications of this invention not only facilitate the capillary activity of the lubricating oil diluents and recover the valuable byproducts of the device disclosed in our aforementioned co-pending application, but also efiect the lubricating of the interior of the engine without the need of separate and special apparatus, a special supply of oil for that purpose, nor attention of any kind. The entire system is devoid of moving parts, fool-proof, and not likely to get out of order.

For a better understanding of the invention, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, in which Fi re 1 is a schematic view showing the application of the oil rectifying apparatus of this invention applied to an internal combustion engine;

k Fig. 2 is an enlarged crossseotion of the principal elements of the apparatus;

Figs. 3A and 4 are -fragmentary schematic views showing different ways of applying the apparatus to an internal combustion engine; an

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary section of a modified form of capillary column.

In these drawings, numeral designates an internal combustion engine from the crankcase 11 of which the lubricating oil is circulated to the various moving parts of the engine 10 by means of the usual oil pump 12. The discharge of the oil pum 12 is divided through pipes 13 and 14, t e former acting as a bypass from pump 12 and leading a portion of theoil to the oil rectifying apparatus, while the latter leads a portion of the oil directly to the bearings and other moving parts of the engine. This arrangement insures lubrication of the engine at all times, and prevents damage by overheating the bearings and the like if the oil rectifying apparatus 15 or any of the oil pipes associated therewith should clog and stop the dew of oil neeaeae during operation of the engine. While the oil distributed directly to the engine through pipe 1 1 has not been immediately purified by the oil rectifying apparatus 15, it has been estimated that all of the engine lubricating oil has previously passed or will pass through the rectifier 15 so that it will eventually all be purified even though divided continuously by the "by-pass in the manner described.

The fundamental principles of operation and basic details of construction of the oil rectifying apparatus 15 are described in detail in our aforementioned patent, but will be briefly described here for the purpose of describing the present invention. Referring to Fig. 2, the rectifyingapparatus 15 cornprises a sheet metal container 16 preferably having the upper edge thereof provided with threads 17 so that it may be removed from sheet metal cover 18 provided with corresponding threads. The disc 19 of top 18 is cup-shaped and formed integrally with a depending tube 20 projecting part Way into the container 16, the junction of disc 19 and tube 20 forming a raised lip 21. A threaded nut 22, soldered in a depression in to 18, is fitted with intake pipe 13 through which the oil pump 12 discharges oil from engine crankcase 11 into container 16. A. hood 23 is soldered to top 18-and forms with disc19 an air-tight chamber 25 which is sealed around nut 22 by washers 24 held in place by nut 26 which also locks pipe 13 and the adjacent parts in position against loosening and leak age. Threaded through a nut 27 sealed in a depression in the center of hood 23 is a tube 28 connected by nipple 29 to outlet pipe 30 by which the rectified oil is supplied to the engine, as shown in Fig. 1. Pipe 28 extends through tube 20 into container 16 and is in communication therewith.

Between tube 20 and concentric tube 31 is clamped the top edge of filter bag 32 of two ply fabric, the outer ply being of coarse weave while the inner ply is of fine weave and having a fine hair-like nap which engages the outer ply of coarse cloth. As shown in Fig. 2, tube 31 is so shaped as to form an annular space 33 which communicates with the in terior of the substantially continuous long tube formed by both tubes 20 and 31.. The top edge of filter bag 32 is arranged to communicate with space 33 and the interior of composite tubes 20-31 for reasons to be subsequently explained. @uter tube 31 is con strained upwardly against lip 21 of top 18 to ill firmly clamp the filter bag 32 by means of a convolution of interior wire coil 37, which,

with smaller exterior wire coil 38, forms filter I capillary bag 32 into a bellows sha e whereby the bag 32 may expose a large fi tering area within the relatively small confines of container 16. Within the annular space formed between pipe 28 and composite tubes -31 is inserted the capillary column 39 which may conveniently take the form of a wick of absorbent.

-cent the bottom of the filter bag 32, being held in position on the legs of yoke 36 by wire rings Fig. 5 illustrates a fragmentary section of a modified form of the capillary column in which the top edge of the filter bag 32 is sealed from the interior of tube 31 by making tube 20 fit tightly Within tube 31. Also, instead of employing one choke nut 41 at the top of wick 39, a second conical choke nut 43 is slidably mounted on pipe 28 and adjustable therealong by nut 44 threaded on the lower end of pipe 28. The cooperation of choke nut 43 with the lower edge of tube 31 compresses wick 39 to form a lower constriction or neck therein.

Referring again to Fig. \2, the top of hood 23 is provided with a second depression in which a nut 45 is airtightly sealed. A T- shaped fitting 46 is tapped into nut 45, this fitting having a bore 47 communicating with chamber 25 and pipe 48. Sealed in fittin 46 and projecting through bore 47 into cham er 25 is a tube 49 provided with an orifice 50 communicating only with the valve chamber 51 and variable in size by screw stud 52 threaded into tube 49. Valve chamber 51 is provided with an air vent 53 normally closed by ball spring valve 54. Pipe 48 is conveniently con nected to the intake of the engine 10 whereby a suction is created therein, so that when the engine is operating, ball valve 54 is unseated and air is drawn through vent 53, orifice 50, tube 49, chamber 25, bore47 and pipe 48. In order to prevent the evaporator portion 40 from being sucked against tube 49, a wire screen 55 is placed over the portion 40.

As disclosed in our aforementioned patent, the capillary column 39iabstracts gasoline and water from the impure oil by capillary action, although the oil also rises as it is diluted by the gasoline which is a solvent thereof, but the percentage of oil dissolved by the gasoline decreases as the mixture rises and what little oil is left is prevented from advancing further by the constricted or necked-in portion or por-.

tions of the wick, which allows only the pure gasoline and water to seep through into the evaporator portion 40 of the wick 39. The abstraction and separation of the gasoline and water from the oil is a natural phenomenon, but the elevation of the liquids in the capillary column is aided by the pressure of the oil caused by pump 12, so that there are two separate forces which procure the effect described, namely, capillary action and the oil pressure. The apparatus of this invention provides a third force which promotes 48 to the intake of engine 10 may be conveniently made to the manifold 56 of the engine 10, as shown in Fig. 1.

The suction thus created 'in chamber 25 and the accompanying circulation therein of the small amount of air drawn through vent 53 when the engine is operating, serves't'o rapidly evaporate the gasoline and water abstracted by the capillary column 39 and introduce these vapors into the engine. The air supply may be regulated by adjusting screw stud 52 and is so infinitesimal as to have no appreciable effect on the operation of the engine in the way of diluting or makmg lean the carburetor mixture. When the engine stops the ball valve 54 is released and 1ts sprlng instantl closes air vent 53s0 that there can be no lea age therethrough, nor can the back-pressure of the engine force any of the combustible mixture into the open air, whereby fire hazards are entirely eliminated. Thus, in addition to promoting and facilitating the capillary activity of the liquids in wick39, it will be seen that the valuable gasoline vapors which were formerly allowed escape into the open an are recovered and introduced with the combustible fuel mixture into the engine manifold 56. In addition to the recovery of the gasoline the fire hazard of allowing the combustible gasoline to evaporate and accumulate under the hood of an automobile, engine, for example, is elim inated. The smaller percentage of water vapor also carried by the suction into the engine serves to slightly moisten the combustible mixture and thus improves combustion and the operation of the engine. This phenomenon is familiar tothose who have operated an automobile engine at night or in wet weather. g I

In the modification of the apparatus i1- lustrated in Fig. 2, the filter bag 32, acting as a capillary column, also serves to abstract the liquid diluents from the oil and these 7 diluents traverse the fabric of the'bag, as-

c'endin to the top thereof, which is restricte or choked between lip 21 of cover 18 and tube 31 so asto allow only gasoline I (ill! and water diluents to pass at this point. The diluents then descend the inserted end of the filter bag and flow into chamber 33 from which they are absorbed by capillary column 39 and eventually pass into absorber portions 40 of the column with the diluents which were directly abstracted by capillary column 39.

instead of introducing the gasoline and water vapors abstracted from the oil into'the manifold 56 they may be introduced into the carburetor 57 by pipe 48, as shown in Fig. 3, thus enriching and moistening the carburetor charge after or during the time that the gasoline introduced by gasoline line 58 is vaporized. Fig. 4 illustrates another way of introducing these recovered gasoline and Water vapors into the engine. lin this arrangement an air cleaner 59 connected to the air intake of the carburetor is employed, and to this air cleaner the pipe 48 may be connected, whereby the carburetor air is slightly enriched and moistened before entering the carburetor. In short, any suction connection may be applied to hood 23 of the apparatus and for convenience on an internal combustion engine any connection of hood 23 with the intake of the engine may be employed. In this connection, it has been ob served that the natural capillary activity of the diluents in the capillary column 39.-.causes these diluents to be abstracted even when the engine is not operating, although obviously not to the same degree. These diluents, which constitute mostly gasoline, according ly accumulate in cup-shaped disc 19, so that when the engine 10 is started, a very rich mixture is introduced immediately into the engine so that the starting of the cold engine is facilitated.

As pointed out heretofore and disclosed in our aforementioned patent, the gasoline ris- .ing by capillary action in column 39 carries with it in solution a small proportion of the lubricating oil, which, however, is prevented from passing into the evaporator portion 40 of the column by a constriction or constrictions in the columns formed by choke nuts 41 and 43. lit has been found that this oil which rises with the gasoline in mechanical.

solution therewith is a lighter fraction of the lubricating oil of the engine. The engine lubricating oil is cracked during operation of the engine when it comes in contact with the highly heated parts thereof, such as by contact with the under side of the pistons in the splash type of lubrication system, for example. A small percentage of the lubricating oil is thus fractionated into the lighter fractions or derivatives, which return to and mix with the reserve lubricating oil, and a carbonaceous gum, which usually adheres to some point adjacent the seat of the cracking process such as on the undersides or insides of the engine pistons. The gasoline diluent in the reserve body of. lubricating oil has greater molecular aiiinity for this lighter oil fraction and dissolves the latter more readily than the heavier uncracked lubricating oil, and this lighter oil fraction also has greater capillary activity than the heavy oil, so that it rises most readily with the gasoline in the capillary column. This light oil has a low flash point, and when burned, as in an engine cylinder, it produces very little carbon and unburned gums, so that the advantages ob tained by its lubricating qualities are not minimized by the formation of the negligible amount of objectionable residue.

In consideration of these advantages and the phenomena, it has. been found that by slightly relieving the constriction or constrictions in capillary column 39 by adjusting nuts 41 or 44, a small but constant proportion of this lighter fraction of the lubricating oil is allowed to pass with the gasoline and water into the evaporator portion 40, and is carried with the other vapors into the engine in the manner described to serve as a lubricant for the pistons and valves. The advantage of lubricating oil in the engine cylinders, especially in a new engine, is Well known and has been introduced heretofore by mixing with the liquid gasoline in the storage tank or by separate apparatus provided for that purpose.

Tn regulating the choke nut 41 in the modification of Fig. 2 in order to allow a small, predetermined quantity of the light fraction of lubricating oil to be introduced continuously into the engine, nut 35 may be adjusted, strap 34 being prevented from turning because of the slot in tube 31 into which it fits, and choke nut 41 being preferably soldered on pipe 28 to prevent oil leakage therethrough and to prevent it from working loose. After it has been adjusted properly nut 35 may be soldered to prevent working loose. In the double choke arrangement for the capillary colume shown in Fig. 5, choke nut 41 may be similarly soldered in place while lower choke collar 43 may be adjusted by nut 44, which may also be soldered in place after the constrictions at choke nuts 41 and 43 have been properly regulated.

It will be seen that the apparatus ofthis invention is simple and most eiiicient for rectifying lubricating oil rapidly and continuously without disturbing its intended use and circulation, whereby considerable operating economy follows because the oil need no longer be periodically removed and replaced. The apparatus is devoid of moving parts and therefore not likely to get out of order, is inexpensive to make and install, and does not detract from the operation of the engine to which it is attached nor use any expendable power thereof, but, on the contrary, the apparatus improves the economy of the engine by recovering valuable gasoline, and improves 13a tional supply of water or apparatus for that purpose, and by automaticallyand continuously introducinga small but constant supply of light lubricating oil into the engine cylinders for lubricating the moving parts devices.

therein, also without requiring an additional supply of oil or apparatus for that purpose. It is to be understood, however, that the use of the apparatus of'this invention is not limited to an internal combustion en ine, but may be employed for rectifying oil ycapillary action and suction in any conceivable way and arrangement, whether or not it is desirable to recover the gasoline and water vapor mixture. It isalso to be'understood that the structure and arrangement of the apparatus is not limited to that shown and described, but the invention is susceptible of many changes, such as arranging the filtering and evaporator units in the manner disclosed in the aforesaid co-pending application, and the like.

We claim:

1. In oil rectifying'apparatus, the combination of acontainer for the oil, a capillary device in the oil in. said container,,for abstracting liquid diluents from the oil, and a source of suction connected to the device for removing the abstracted diluents therefrom.

2. In oil rectifying apparatus, the Gombination of a. conta ner for the oil, a capillary device in the oil in said container for abstracting liquid diluents from the oil, an evaporator connected to said devi for evaporating the diluents abstracted th reby, and suction means connected to the evaporator for removing the vaporized diluents therefrom.

Y 3. In oil rectifying apparatus, lthe combiv nation of a container for the oil, a capillary device in the oil in said container for abstracting liquid diluents from the oil, an I evaporator connected to said device for evaporating the diluents abstracted thereby, and a source of suction connected to the evaporator for removing. the vaporized diluents. I

4. In oil rectifying apparatus, the combination of a container for theoil, a capillary device having a part ezitending into the 011 in said container for abstracting and elevating liquid diluents from the oil bycapillary action, means for introducing the "oil into the container, and suction means for removing the abstracted diluents from the top of said 5. In oil rectifying apparatus, the combination of a container for the oil, a capillary device having a part extending into the oil in said container for abstracting and elevat+f ing liquid diluents from the oil by capillary the oil into the action, means for introducing 'cating oil of an internal com container, an evaporator for the abstracted diluents at the top of said devices, and suction means connected to the evaporator.

6. In oil rectifying apparatus, the combination of a container for the oil, a capillary device for abstracting and elevating liquid diluents from the oil, pressure means for introducing the oil to the container, and suction means connected to the top of the device.

7. In oil rectifying apparatus, the combination of a capillary column for abstracting and elevating liquid diluents from the oil by capillary action, means for introducing the o l to the base thereof, a source of positive pressure acting on the oil at the base of the column, and a source of negative pressure acting on the top of the column.

8. In oil rectifying apparatus, the combination of aporous column for abstracting and elevating liquid diluents from a body of oil by capillary action, means for supplying oil under pressure to the column, and means for removing the abstracted diluents from therein for removing the solid diluents from the. oil, Ia porousybody projecting .into' the line for removing the liquid diluents therefrom by capillary action, and asource of suction connected to the body for promoting capillary action therein. 2 I

11. In'apparatus for rectif ing the lubriustion engine, the combination of a porous body having a portion'projecting into the oilfor removmg tion, and means connecting another portion of the body to the intake of the .engme, whereby the suction thus applied to the ody promotes the capillary activity of the diluents body having a portion projectmg from thecontainer, and connections between said por tions of the body and the intake of the engine, said connections including an air intake.

13. In apparatus for recti ing the lubricating oil 0 an internal com ustion engine,

the combination ofanoil pump, a pipe conthe liquiddiluents therefrom by capillary actill rib

nected to the pump for supplying oil to the engine, a by-pass for said pipe, a porous body having a portion extending into said by-pass for abstracting the liquid diluents from the oil by capillary action, said body having a portion extending out of the bypass, and connections between said last-named portion and the intake of the engine.

14. In apparatus for rectifying the lubricating oil of an internal combustion engine, the combination of an oil pump, at least two lines for supplying oil from the pump to the engine, means in one of said lines for abstracting the liquid diluents and a small quantity of the oil, and means connected to said first means for introducing the abstracted diluents and oil into the engine.

15. In internal combustion engine having a reserve body of lubricating oil, the combination of a wick having one end immersed in the oil for abstracting the liquid diluents therefrom by capillary action, and connections between the other end of the wick and the intake of the engine for vaporizing and introducing the vaporized diluents to the engine.

16., In an internal combustion engine having a reserve body out lubricating oil, the combination of a capillary column having one end immersed in the oil for abstracting the liquid diluents and a small quantity of oil therefrom, and means connected to the other end of the column for conveying said diluents and small quantity of oil into the engine.

17, In an internal combustion engine having a crank case, a body OI lubricating oil in said crank case, the combination of means for abstracting a quantity of the oil from said reserve body and means connected to said first-mentioned means for introducing this quantity of oil into the engine.

18, In an internal combustion engine having a reserve body of lubricating oil, the combination of means for separating the liquid diluents from the oil,means "for regulating said first-named means to allow a small quantity of oil to be abstracted from the body of the oil, and means for conveying these abstracted diluents and oil to the engine.

19. In an internal combustion engine having a reserve body of lubricating oil, the combination of a capillary column immersed in said body for abstracting the liquid diluents therefrom, an evaporator head for the column,'an air vent therein, and connections between the head and the intake of the engine for evaporating the diluents with air in said head and conveying the vaporized diluents into the engine.

20. The method of recovering diluents from the lubricating oil of an internal combustion engine, which consists in abstracting the diluents from the oil by capillary action, vaporizing the diluents, and introducing them into the engine.

menses tures.

MARTIN CZARNY. FRANK C. FROLANDEEKM ire rise 

